The Census Bureau welcomed 13 new members of five race and ethnic advisory committees to their spring meeting in Arlington, Va. today.

     “The Race and Ethnic Advisory Committees play a vital role in ensuring that we make the best effort possible to reach race and ethnic groups as we fully implement the American Community Survey and test our plans for the 2010 Census,” Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon said.

     The committees advise the Census Bureau on issues affecting the African-American, American Indian and Alaska native, Asian, Hispanic, and native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander populations. They comprise members of the public at large, including representatives of tribal entities, academia and the private sector. Committee members serve three-year terms.

     The newly appointed members are:

The Rev. K. Bernard “Bernie” Miller (Chattanooga, Tenn.)

     Miller is pastor of New Covenant Fellowship, a multicultural ministry. He serves on several boards in the Chattanooga metropolitan area, including the Chattanooga Housing Authority, the Hamilton County Regional Health Council and other community-based entities. Miller has a background in radio broadcasting and media relations.

Winsome Earle Sears (Norfolk, Va.)

     Sears is a former delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates. She has participated actively on several boards and commissions in Virginia’s Tidewater region, including the Interdenominational Children’s Foundation, the Virginia War Memorial Board and Virginia’s Advisory Commission for Intergovernmental Relations.

James Edward Whitehead Jr. (Washington, D.C.)

     Whitehead is founder of EXHALE® Cosmetics and Millenium Technologies. He has held executive government positions with a focus on domestic and international business development.

Marinna Wright, J.D. (Normal, Ill.)

     Wright is a lawyer and has held several state-level positions in Illinois, most recently as an assistant state’s attorney in Bloomington and as a legislative assistant to a representative in the Illinois House of Representatives.

American Indian and Alaska Native Advisory Committee

Juliet King (Davis, Calif.)

     King is a community and economic development researcher for the Department of Human and Community Development at the University of California at Davis. King has written reports, papers and other publications on American Indian and rural housing. She also served on the steering committee of the Census Bureau’s Census Information Center program.

Jana McKeag (Washington, D.C.)

     McKeag is vice president and a board member of Venture Catalyst, a tribal gaming operations consulting company. In 1991, McKeag was appointed commissioner of the National Indian Gaming Commission. The commission was created by Congress to regulate, set standards and monitor gaming activities on American Indian lands. She has a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University.

Asian Advisory Committee

Xuan-Nhi Van Ho (Cypress, Calif.)

     Ho is director of business development for Western Union Financial Services. Ho is a long-time community activist for the Vietnamese-American population in Orange County, Calif. He has conducted outreach for that community, and was a community partnership specialist for the Census Bureau during Census 2000.

Christine Takada (Chicago, Ill.)

     Takada is executive director of the Asian American Alliance, the first pan-Asian small business development center in the country. Takada held statewide positions in Illinois, including governor’s liaison to the Asian American community. She has been an active board member of the Asian American Institute, the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, the Illinois Council of Minority Business Organizations and the United Way of Chicago. She also served as chairperson for the Illinois governor’s Asian American Advisory Council.

Hispanic Advisory Committee

Anthony “Tony” P. Ibarra (Denver, Colo.)

     Ibarra is chief executive officer and founder of Digatron, Inc., a company that earned national recognition for its design of computer network systems for the U.S. government and state governments in Colorado, Montana and Wyoming. Ibarra is active in his local community and is a member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Business Advisory Committee for Denver Public Schools and the Denver Cable Board.

Altagracia “Grace” Ramos (Beavercreek, Ohio)

     Ramos is a commissioner of the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. As commissioner, she is responsible for enforcing the Ohio Revised Code on Discrimination. Ramos was a presidential appointee to the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She also was a special assistant to the associate director for public liaison in the White House’s Office of Public Liaison.

     Enomoto is acting executive director of Hawaii’s Kaho!olawe Island Reserve Commission, where he is responsible for implementing policy directives to preserve native Hawaiian culture, restore the environment, protect natural and cultural resources and promote education.

State Rep. Guy P. Ontai (Mililani, Hawaii)

     Ontai represents Hawaii’s 37th legislative district. Ontai also is director of the Pacific American Research Center and vice president of the Pacific American Foundation. During a 16-year military career, he served as an Army major and an assistant professor of physics at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He also taught physics at Hawaii’s Kamehameha School. Ontai earned a bachelor’s degree from the U.S. Military Academy and a master’s in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Mona Porotesano (Carson, Calif.)

     Porotesano is a commissioner on the International Samoan Language Board. As commissioner, she promotes the preservation of Samoan language. She also is a consultant on Samoan arts, language, customs and protocol in the greater Los Angeles area. During Census 2000, Porotesano participated in a local census committee and did outreach with Los Angeles’ Pacific islander community.

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